inframe rebuild at 130k worries/concerns 03 dt466 ic3000

[o1marc]

Please excuse my ignorance about diesels, but, what "bottle of strips" and what/how do you use them for?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-...213012?hash=item1ef3239014:g:CdIAAOSwip5cSNjy

 

[cadillackid]

yeppers Marc got it..



using a coolant filter with an auto release tablet in it usually handles keeping the levels normal for all situations where you lose a small amount of coolant here or there.. some that steams out in Hot weather. or a few drops that may leak around a heater connection etc.. but if you have a catastrophic loss and repair then youd need to add more SCA.. too much SCA will create sediment and can clog sensitive items like oil coolers or small heater core passages.. so you dont want to just add it fir the heck of it without testing..

I change the coolant in my DEV bus every 2 years .. I did it aftyer 1 year in the time when I drove it many 1000s of miles that season.. this year itll get all new coolant and filter in the spring..

-Christopher

 

[kidharris]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-...213012?hash=item1ef3239014:g:CdIAAOSwip5cSNjy

$22 - expensive, but cheaper than repairs I suppose. Instructions?



What else do I need to know? This is all news to me.

 

[kidharris]

yeppers Marc got it..



using a coolant filter with an auto release tablet in it usually handles keeping the levels normal for all situations where you lose a small amount of coolant here or there.. some that steams out in Hot weather. or a few drops that may leak around a heater connection etc.. but if you have a catastrophic loss and repair then youd need to add more SCA.. too much SCA will create sediment and can clog sensitive items like oil coolers or small heater core passages.. so you dont want to just add it fir the heck of it without testing..

I change the coolant in my DEV bus every 2 years .. I did it aftyer 1 year in the time when I drove it many 1000s of miles that season.. this year itll get all new coolant and filter in the spring..

-Christopher

Ok... whats SCA?


I appreciate you guys taking the time to school me.

 

[Drew Bru]

Please excuse my ignorance about diesels, but, what "bottle of strips" and what/how do you use them for?

Coolant test strips, to determine the condition of the coolant.

 

[Booyah45828]

You dip one of the strips in the coolant. The rectangular colored pieces on the strips are foam pads with chemicals on them. Those chemicals react to the coolant and change colors.

You align those pad colors with those on the chart, and that tells you the condition of the coolant.

One pad is for glycol% which gives you your freeze point.

Another pad is for ph level. That determines whether or not the metals will be eating each other in the system.

The final strip is for your additive. It's measured in ppm. You run into trouble with too little and too much. Most of the time it will tell you how much sca(supplemental coolant additive) to add to your current system to get it up to snuff.

Additives are what combats corrosion, cavitation, and foaming in the coolant. There are multiple types off additive packages so you have to get the correct test strip and sca for the coolant you're using.

Google this stuff once and you'll find more info then you'd want to read concerning it.

 

[Serendipitous_Bus]

Help with Blowby

So I am new to diesels. We converted a 1999 International 3000RE to an RV. I am good with cars and pretty handy, but Diesels are a new animal to me.

My problem, I noticed a significant drip of (what I thought was oil, but turned out to be coolant) coolant, coming from the compressor/engine block fitting. Before I found the leak, we were remodeling the bus, and I would let it high idol for a while to keep the motor functioning and to look for problems (thus I found the leak). By this time the bus had run low on coolant, and I developed an air lock at the thermostat which would stay about 140 degrees until I shut off the bus and it would jump to 190 degrees.

I then did a flush and vac fill of coolant and the temp gauge problem went away as it would gradually go up to 190 and stay there. I also bypassed the heater lines running through the bus and attached the coolant hose from the pump to the top of the engine near the thermostat. (just bypassing the heater loop that ran through the interior of the bus). I used the extended life, High mileage Red Coolant.

As I took the bus for our shakedown trip, I noticed that when I pushed the throttle down there would be a puff of bluish smoke from the tailpipe. (About 2/3rds of the way into the mountains) But nothing when at idle. Once the shakedown trip was over and we began to warm the engine to come home, I noticed quite a bit of white smoke coming from the breather valve that I didn't notice before. This happens as the engine warms up, however I do not notice any of this coming out the exhaust. I have also had the engine parked and when I rev the engine I do not notice any abnormal exhaust coming out of the exhaust pipe.

I have noticed the coolant level very slightly drop over a few hours of use. (maybe 1" or 1.5" in the reservoir. I have also not noticed any leaking or dripping of. coolant. The blowby tube still puts out a weak constant puff of white smoke, one that hardly makes it to the ground if at all on a calm day.

I'm trying to figure out if I have damage to the engine.

1. I would think if there was an issue I would have smoke coming out of the exhaust as well.

2. The oil when checked is 1/4" over full, but not diluted feeling. And it smells like burnt charcoal and is very black and not runny on the dipstick.

3. Is there supposed to be a normal amount of blowby for an engine with 236K miles and 12k+ hours on it?

4. Our shakedown trip was at an elevation of 5,000 feet up to 9,500 feet and back down to 8500 feet within about 1.5 hours. Coolant level on the high grades went to 215 and stayed there Based on Dash reading) and would quickly drop back to 190 when not climbing. Could this have caused an issue? I tested the thermostat when replacing the coolant and it is set to open at 190 so I assume the dash reading is correct as the temp settles at 190 in normal operation.

5. Last thing I can think of is, if we moved our air intake screens down to the engine bay doors from being horizontal to the windows and removed the air scoops, could this be causing a problem? Should I reinstall the air Scoops down onto the engine bay doors where the intake screen now is?

Any advice would be great!.

I am trying to understand and Diagnose the best I can so if I have to take it to the IH dealer, I want to know if a rebuild is necessary, or if what I am experiencing is normal for a 1999 DT466E.

 

[Booyah45828]

Send an oil sample out for analysis. That will tell you if there is coolant in the oil.

Then, take a video of your blowby smoke and post it somewhere for us to watch. An engine with 236k miles on it will have blowby. A video is the only way someone will be able to tell you if it's excessive or not. You can find videos on youtube that show what blowby is and when it is excessive.

If you're loosing coolant, a cooling system pressure test is something I would do. Pump it up to spec and look for leaks/drips.

 

[cadillackid]

definitely send an oil sample to Blackstone labs for analysis like Booyah mentions. it will also tell you if there is excessive fuel or metal in the oil.



Im a bit confused in reading.. is your coolant level continuing to drop? if you fill it to the top you will see it go down as when you drive you can expand the coolant when the engine is hot to a point that some is pushed on the ground.. but once you reach that plateau you shouldnt see it keep going down to the add level or below.. it should reach a point (usually just below the full line) and stays there..


-Christopher

 

[Serendipitous_Bus]

Thanks, I will send and Oil sample out. I did a pressure test before vac filling, and it was great with no leaks.

 

[Serendipitous_Bus]

definitely send an oil sample to Blackstone labs for analysis like Booyah mentions. it will also tell you if there is excessive fuel or metal in the oil.



Im a bit confused in reading.. is your coolant level continuing to drop? if you fill it to the top you will see it go down as when you drive you can expand the coolant when the engine is hot to a point that some is pushed on the ground.. but once you reach that plateau you shouldnt see it keep going down to the add level or below.. it should reach a point (usually just below the full line) and stays there..


-Christopher

Hopefully this will clarify. Before flushing and fixing the coolant leak the coolant went way down. Since fixing this and doing the pressure test and vac fill, the coolant has stayed relatively close to just below the Full level on the reservoir, but I have noticed it has fallen maybe 1" lower that where it was stabilized prior to our trip. So it is falling, but very slowly. I wonder if this has to do with working any bubbles out of the system? But it really shouldn't if I vac filled it right?